Wednesday, June 3, 1998
Bruins to race for top finish
CHAMPIONSHIP: With Pac-10 title in hand, team ready to face
Outdoor tourney
By Alvin Cadman
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
As the seniors on UCLA’s women’s track and field team prepare
for the final straightaway, hurdle, jump and throw, there is one
goal in the minds of every Bruin: a national championship.
Starting today at 2 p.m. EST, the Bruin women will leave it all
on the track and field, competing at the 1998 NCAA Outdoor Track
and Field Championships. Taking place at the New York State
University in Buffalo, the championships begin today with a strong
Bruin throwing corps competing in the women’s discus final. The
final event, the women’s 1,600-meter relay, will be Saturday at
8:30 p.m. EST.
The Bruins are currently ranked second in the country by
TrackWire and had been ranked as the top team in the land for the
past three weeks prior to the NCAA Outdoors. The Bruin women were
also the top team in the country last year heading into the final
meet of the season. They finished in third place behind eventual
champion Louisiana State University and Texas at the 1997 NCAA
Outdoors in Bloomington, Ind.
The Bruin women come off a bye week after capturing their
second-straight Pac-10 Championship under head coach Jeannette
Bolden. The Bruins are a perfect 11-0 in dual meets this season and
trail No. 1 Texas in the rankings by the slimmest of margins.
The Bruins plan to take back their No. 1 status in the country,
expecting to win out over the field behind strong performances from
many of their top athletes.
Junior Andrea Anderson heads into the 1998 NCAA Outdoors with
the No. 2 ranking in the nation in the 400 meters with a time of
51.48 seconds. This is the No. 2 mark in school history and third
in Pac-10 history. She is also scheduled to run the third leg of
UCLA’s 400-meter relay and the anchor leg of the 1,600-meter relay.
She is a 1997 All-American after placing sixth on the 400-meter
relay at last year’s NCAA Outdoor meet. Her 52.52 second 400-meter
run at the 1998 Pac-10’s earned her the victory, leaving the door
open for a breakthrough performance in New York.
Junior Melinda George was ninth in the 3,000 meters at the
Pac-10 Championships with a time of 9:55.69 and sixth in the 5,000
meters with a time of 17:13.45.
Junior Joanna Hayes was ranked 10th in the country entering the
1998 season in the 400-meter hurdles. Her 400-meter hurdle mark of
57.09 seconds places her eighth on the NCAA charts. Meanwhile,
Hayes’ 100-meter hurdle time of 12.93 seconds is third on the
collegiate list.
The Riverside hurdler and relay specialist injured her right
hamstring at the 1998 Pac-10’s two weeks ago while cruising to the
100-meter hurdle victory. Considered to be either a severe cramp or
mild strain, her status will be monitored day-to-day and the extent
of her competition at the 1998 NCAA Outdoors will be determined
right before the championships begin. She is also scheduled to
compete in the 400 and 1,600-meter relays.
Freshman Shakedia Jones has propelled herself into the elite
class of female sprinters in the country. She enters the 1998 NCAA
Outdoors with the top legal (non-wind aided) mark in the 100-meter
sprint with a time of 11.11 seconds and is sixth on the collegiate
charts with a time of 22.84 seconds in the 200 meters. She is also
scheduled to run on the Bruin’s two relay squads. She earned
All-American honors at the 1998 NCAA Indoor Championships with an
eighth place finish in the 200 meters with a time of 23.78
seconds.
Senior Nada Kawar will travel to New York with goals of scoring
well in the women’s shot put and discus. She was recently awarded
the Pac-10 Medal, an honor awarded based on an athlete’s
achievement in scholarship, athletics and leadership. She enters
the 1998 NCAA Outdoors with a ranking of fourth in the shot put
(57-2 3/4) and fifth in the discus (197-2). She placed fourth and
sixth, respectively, last year at the 1997 NCAA Outdoors, earning
her All-American status in both events. She also has international
experience, having represented Jordan at the 1996 Summer Olympic
Games in Atlanta.
Senior Rachelle Noble continues to prove that she is UCLA’s most
versatile thrower. She is the first woman in NCAA Outdoor history
to qualify in all four throwing events. She is ranked 12th in the
shot put (53-5), fourth in the discus (198-2), seventh in the
hammer (186-10) and 18th in the javelin (167-1). She earned
All-American honors in the 20-pound weight throw at both the 1997
NCAA Outdoor and 1998 NCAA Indoor.
True freshman Julie Ott is currently ranked 14th on the NCAA
Outdoor list with a 10,000 meter time of 35:01.40. She took fourth
at the 1998 Pac-10 meet in the same event with a time of 35:44.41
and 11th in the 500 meters with a mark of 17:36.94. She was the No.
2 runner for the Bruin cross country team last fall, placing 20th
at the Pac-10 Championships and 24th at the Western Regionals.
Sophomore Deana Simmons returns to the NCAA Outdoors with a goal
of winning her primary event: the women’s triple jump. Her mark of
43-5 1/4 this year is third in school history and sixth on the
collegiate list. She won the event at the 1998 Pac-10 meet with a
jump of 42-7. She earned All-American honors at the 1998 NCAA
Indoor with a sixth place finish in the triple jump (43-7 3/4). She
had a breakthrough performance against USC with a triple jump mark
of 44-1 1/4.
Finally, sophomore Seilala Sua, the Bruin’s sole returning
national champion, is ranked fifth in the nation in the shot put
(57-2 3/4) and second in the discus (212-2). She won the shot put
at the 1998 Pac-10 meet with a toss of 56-10, while placing second
in the discus at 204-10. She earned All-American honors at the 1998
NCAA Indoors, placing seventh in the shot put (54-4 3/4). She
placed eighth in the discus at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1996.
She, as well as the rest of her teammates, hope to come home to
Westwood with not only her luggage, but another piece of hardware:
a national championship trophy.
MARY CIECEK
Joanna Hayes and the Bruins hope to sprint away from the
competition at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Buffalo today.